Cavani to the Premier League?

Edinson Cavani could be heading for the Premier League in the summer and English fans should be purring at the thought of seeing him on our shores.

The Napoli striker has burst onto the radar this season with some outstanding performances in the Champions League, and has been strongly linked with moves to Manchester City and, more recently, Chelsea.

He is one of the most exciting players in European football and the Uruguayan's Serie A club face an almighty struggle to keep hold of their star turn.

It's one of those great football clichés that 'every team craves a 'proper' centre forward'. Cavani most certainly falls into that category.

First and foremost, he scores goals - lots of them. 25 this season and 55 in 72 starts as a Napoli player.

Why that record may not rival Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, his chance conversion rate this season is just shy of 20 per cent - eclipsing Wayne Rooney and even the freescoring Robin van Persie.

We have seen by his performances against Chelsea and City that he possesses all the physical attributes to give Premier League defenders sleepless nights.

His athletic nature allows him to lead the line as a lone striker, and his link-up play with partner-in-crime Ezequiel Lavezzi shows a great understanding of the game.

Cavani would fit perfectly into the hugely fashionable 4-5-1 or 4-2-3-1 formations, with his ability to lead the line almost single-handedly.

He even looked Napoli's best defender from set pieces at Stamford Bridge - though that may not be saying much!

He is perhaps the finest example in European football of what a modern centre forward needs to be and, at 25, the best could be yet to come.

Cavani is a manager's dream. It is no surprise he is so highly sought after.

The £14million Napoli paid Palermo to bring him to the San Paolo in the summer of 2010 looks more and more like a bargain with every passing week that his stock rises.

Especially when you consider the sums of money paid for Messrs Torres and Carroll just months later.

It's safe to say his valuation is considerably higher now. If outspoken president Aurelio de Laurentiis is to be believed then suitors will have to break all kinds of records to prize him from the peninsula.

"We are not using our players for the transfer market but if some crazy guy wants to put down £100million, then maybe," he insists.

"If Sheikh Mansour wants to buy one of our jewels, he should pay much more than he has already spent at Manchester City."

De Laurentiis should be careful what he wishes for when considering the endless pot of gold at the Etihad.

With the futures of Mario Balotelli, Sergio Aguaro and Edin Dzeko all up in the air, City will almost certainly be in the market for a goalscorer come the summer.

Cavani is top of Roberto Mancini's shopping list after seeing him terrorise his side in the Champions League earlier this season.

And how much money would be generated from the sale of the aforementioned forward trio? Probably not far off that £100million.

Liverpool are also keen and want to partner Cavani with international team-mate Luis Suarez, while Chelsea have reportedly opened talks with his representatives.

European giants Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are, as ever, keeping tabs on him, while Sir Alex Ferguson is even said to be monitoring his situation.

But, for the time being, Cavani insists he is happy in Naples, where he is under contract until 2015.

"I don't even listen to the rumours," he said. "I always leave my decisions in God's hands. When I went to Napoli, things happened in a [certain] way that I joined the club, when I had never imagined or thought that it could happen.

"In the future, the same thing will happen."

His immediate future could hang on whether Walter Mazzarri's side gain qualification to next year's Champions League.

This season has seen Serie A lose a place in Europe's elite club competition to the Bundesliga and, with five teams fighting for the third and final place, that is by no means guaranteed.

Failure to do so could spark a bidding war - with the Premier League his most likely destination.

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